Biz Bits: Tips for making your job search easier

Tuesday

Weekly business rail, with tips for making your job search easier, BBB Watch on Peel Inc. and more.

Tip of the Week

Whether you are facing a slowed economy or one that is bursting at the seams, there are ways to make your job search less frustrating.

"Looking for a job is a job in itself," says Anthony Davis, director of Career Services at Brown Mackie College - Fort Wayne. "If you expect to work 40 hours a week, then you must be prepared to put in many hours in your job search."

The next step is to have a razor-sharp resume. "Your resume must speak to the job you are applying for," Davis says. "A resume that does not will quickly be tossed in the outbox trash."

Now it's time to create your own job search team to help advise you while you are looking for a job. A sampling of team members can be professional colleagues, close friends, parents, college professors and alumni.

Job seekers should be networking. In fact, according to Davis, members of the job seeker's job search team should be some of the same people the job seeker should be networking with.

Other networking opportunities can be found just by volunteering for a nonprofit organization. There have been job seekers who have turned their volunteer opportunity into real jobs.

BBB Watch

Peel Inc., an internet distribution company selling a variety of products ranging from coffee to posters, under multiple names and Web site addresses, has received more than 1,360 Better Business Bureau complaints in the past year from 49 states; currently, the company has 897 pending complaints with the Better Business Bureau. These complaints have earned the company an F rating from the BBB.

Consumer complaints to the Better Business Bureau allege undisclosed or unauthorized charges, lack of clearly disclosed shipping and/or membership fees, and deceptive advertising. Consumers further allege receiving multiple orders of merchandise that have not been ordered and/or authorized, and subsequent difficulties obtaining refunds.

"Peel Inc. has an extensive track record of leaving unhappy customers behind," said Steve J. Bernas of the Better Business Bureau. "Consumers absolutely need to take the time to read the policies and terms of a company, and then research the business with an unbiased organization before making any purchase.”

For more advice on Peel Inc. or online shopping, visit www.bbb.org.

The List

Here are the world’s most powerful people, according to Forbes.com:

1. Barack Obama

2. Hu Jintao

3. Vladimir Putin

4. Ben S. Bernanke

5. Sergey Brin and Larry Page

6. Carlos Slim Helu

7. Rupert Murdoch

8. Michael T. Duke

9. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud

10. William Gates III

11. Pope Benedict XVI

12. Silvio Berlusconi

13. Jeffrey R. Immelt

14. Warren Buffett

15. Angela Merkel

16. Laurence D. Fink

17. Hillary Clinton

18. Lloyd C. Blankfein

19. Li Changchun

20. Michael Bloomberg

Number to Know

52.9: December’s Consumer Confidence Index, according to the Conference Board. That number is up from November’s 50.6 rating.

GateHouse News Service

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